A budget stay in Kensington?! I know, I hear you, I didn't think such a thing existed either, but Point A Hotels have well and truly proved me wrong.
Last weekend, they kindly gifted me a stay at their Kensington hotel and I was honestly so impressed. I am not a hotel snob, normally me and Andy stay at a Travelodge or a Premier Inn, so trying out another budget hotel chain was right up my street.
We book hotels in London probably four times a year, not living together has many disadvantages so it is nice to actually get to spend some quality time together once in a while. London is always a good middle ground for both of us, with Andy living in Essex and me living in Surrey, but both of us commuting into London for work.
Located just a 5 minute walk from Earls Court underground station, Point A's Kensington hotel was easy to find and well connected, with three stations within a 12 minute walk from the hotel. I was made to feel so welcome the minute I stepped into the foyer of the hotel, where a friendly member of staff checked me in at literally 3:01pm which I was so impressed with as check-in was from 3pm. Why were you impressed by that? I hear you ask. Well let me tell you, I've stayed in a fair share of hotels in my time and the amount of times I've been told at check-in time that my room is not ready yet, is awful.
The Room
Overall I was impressed with the room, we were on the 2nd floor and even for my lazy self, that was more than do-able with the staircase, although there was also a lift too. The room was extremely cosy and homely, a little smaller than I had anticipated, but more than enough space for two. I was particularly impressed with all the high-tech features that the hotel had to offer, they were what you'd expect from a high-end hotel. For example, the TV had Chromecast and access to a movie rentals app. We were keen to catch up on Power so the Chromecast came in handy to stream from my Netflix account.
The main selling point for me was the mood lighting. Lights were above the bed, along the top of the window, and around the mirror, and these could be changed to literally any colour under the rainbow by using a touch screen control. I'd go back and stay at Point A for this feature alone - I won't admit how long I spent playing with the light settings...
Point A seem to be pretty environmentally conscious, as they do not offer a daily cleaning service. We were only staying for one night so it wasn't even anything we needed to consider, but they thoroughly clean their rooms after each guest visit and then every three days for those who are staying with them longer. In this day and age I think this is a great step for the brand to be making. I must say though, the room was incredibly clean when we arrived, even down to under the bed (which yes, I did check), and inside the drawers.
I was a little obsessed with the mirrors in the room, there were four altogether which is pretty decent for a small room. They were perfect for selfies too! I think this room would make the perfect base for bloggers who are staying in London in particular, as you have plenty of hanging space for all the outfits you want to shoot, plenty of mirrors to change in, and an array of blogger hot-spots nearby such as the typical white fancy houses and the V&A Museum.
The Bathroom
I don't think there's much I can say about a bathroom, but I'd rate the one at Point A a solid 9/10. The bathrooms are fitted with two lighting options, one which is a yellow main light, and the other is a bright white mirror light. We had a fairly early wake up call as we were both heading to work from the hotel and the two light options were a god-send at 7am (bright lights in the morning, no thank you).
Having stayed in a tonne of budget hotels, I did not have high hopes for the shower. Usually they just dribble out water, or they spray everywhere except where you want the water to go. The shower at Point A was not at all like this, and in fact was a pretty powerful shower. That's the end of my bathroom discussions!
Reception Area & Breakfast
The reception area inside the Kensington hotel was really boujee and I can imagine that had I been there for longer, it would've been a lovely place to hang out in the evenings, with comfy chairs and TV's. I didn't manage to get any decent pictures of me in the communal spaces as the light was a bit too yellow for my liking, but if you're a dab hand with Lightroom, it's a great place to get some banging shots for the gram!
Point A very kindly gifted us breakfast with our stay, and there was a wide range of cereals, baked goods, juice and fresh fruit on offer. Unfortunately there were no dairy-free options for the milk so I sadly couldn't have any cereal, but I did have the tastiest Cinnamon Danish and some pineapple, along with a glass of orange juice.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed my stay, and the world's fussiest man, Andy, did too - in fact we were both saying that we didn't want to leave in the morning as the bed was just so comfy. I will definitely be looking to book with Point A when we are next looking to stay for a night in London. They also have a hotel in Edinburgh which is high on my list of places to visit, so maybe i'll end up at that one too.
Rooms at Point A start at £69, and if you sign up to their A-List via their website, you can get 10% off your first booking!
This stay was kindly gifted by Point A Hotels, but all opinions in this post are my own.
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